Race On for Taxi Apps

By early next year, hailing a yellow cab in New York City could be as easy as whipping out a smartphone and pressing a button. That is, unless the companies that run the city’s livery fleets succeed in blocking a rule change in a key vote next week.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission is expected to vote Thursday on rules that would allow the use of smartphone applications for hailing and paying for cab rides for the first time. But representatives for other for-hire vehicles have mounted a fierce behind-the-scenes lobbying effort to block them.

About Voices

Along with original content and posts from across the Dow Jones network, this section of AllThingsD includes Must-Reads From Other Websites — pieces we’ve read, discussions we’ve followed, stuff we like. Six posts from external sites are included here each weekday, but we only run the headlines. We link to the original sites for the rest. These posts are explicitly labeled, so it’s clear that the content comes from other websites, and for clarity’s sake, all outside posts run against a pink background.

We also solicit original full-length posts and accept some unsolicited submissions.

AllThingsD by Writer

AllThingsD.com is a Web site devoted to news, analysis and opinion on technology, the Internet and media. But it is different from other sites in this space. It is a fusion of different media styles, different topics, different formats and different sources. Read more »